Slope paving apparatus



Feb. 18, 1969 c. B. TOPE 3,42 7,937

SLOPE PAVING APPARATUS Filed NOV. 7, 1967 FIGJ INVENTOR. 6242/4? 5. 727

United States Patent 3,427,937 SLOPE PAVING APPARATUS Clarke B. Tope, La Crescenta, Calif., assignor to Telstar Engineers, Inc., San Bernardino, Califi, a corporation of California Filed Nov. 7, 1967, Ser. No. 681,443

US. CI. 94-45 2 Claims Int. Cl. E01c 19/48, 23/16 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Slope paving apparatus including an elongated screed bar movable upon the inclined surface of a slope by means of an extensible and retractable boom which can be raised and lowered and swung from side to side, so that the screed bar is enabled to spread and smooth plastic concrete up the slope.

Field of the invention The invention relates generally to a screed bar for spreading and smoothing plastic concrete and more particularly to a screed bar and associated equipment for accomplishing these tasks upon the inclined surface of a slope to be paved.

Description of the prior art Present techniques for spreading and smoothing concrete answer adequately for large jobs where a large expanse of concrete is involved, or for small jobs in which hand pouring and finishing of the concrete is all that is needed. However, there is presently no satisfactory means for handling the production and cost savings gap between hand pouring and machine paving. For example, Where the sloping side of a drainage or irrigation canal is to be paved, the conventional machines cannot pave portions of the slope close to vehicle or pedestrian overpasses or similar obstruction. Heretofore, the area immediately adjacent the overpass was paved by initially distributing the concrete with a truck crane or the like, followed by hand spreading and finishing. Often the amounts of concrete involved are quite great by hand finishing standards, and the time and cost involved are excessive, particularly where the slope is steep and high.

Summary of the invention The present invention is a combination of an elongated screed bar with equipment adapted to move the screed bar up a steep slope or the like for the purpose of spreading and smoothing relatively large quantities of plastic concrete over areas not readily accessible to conventional machine pavers.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from consideration of the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Description 0 the drawing FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a screed bar according to the present invention, only a portion of the boom to which it is attached being illustrated;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the screed bar of FIG. 1, the screed bar being illustrated on an enlarged scale and foreshortened to fit the drawing space available;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the screed bar, and illustrated in the foreshortened, enlarged scale of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a view taken along the line 55 of FIG. 3.

Description of the preferred embodiment and particularly to bar pivotally attached to an elongated boom 12 of equipment (not shown) which is commercially available and adapted to mount the boom 12 for pivotal movement about various axes. Such equipment is self-propelled, includes a power supply which can be tapped for miscellaneous tasks, and is sufliciently mobile to be able to reach areas inaccessible to a machine paver of the type used for continuous paving of large expanses of concrete.

Equipment of the type adapted to mount the boom 12 is able to swing the boom 12 about a substantially vertical axis; raise and lower the boom 12 about a substantially horizontal axis; extend and retract the boom 12; and tilt the boom 12 about its own axis.

The boom 12 mounts a hydraulic cylinder (not shown) which includes a piston or actuator 14 for attachment to the screed bar 10, as will be seen.

The screed bar Ill includes an elongated central portion 16 extending transversely of the boom 12, and further includes a pair of end portions constituting drift wings 18 which form substantially right angular continuations of the central portion 16-.

As best viewed in FIGS. 4 and 5, the central portion 16 and the drift wings 18 each includes a front or forward wall 20 for pushing and spreading plastic concrete (not shown), and further includes a lower wall or underside 22 forming a substantially right angular, smoothly faired continuation of the forward wall 20 for the purpose of pressing down upon and smoothing the plastic concrete.

The free or outer edges of the walls 20 and undersides 22 of the central portion 16 and the drift wings 18 are Welded to diagonal plates 24 which brace the associated structures and prevent the unwanted accumulation of concrete in the corners between the Walls 20 and the undersides 22. In this regard, a pair of triangular end plates 26 are welded in place at the ends of the drift wings 18 to also keep concrete from flowing into the drift wings.

Similar triangular plates 28 are welded internally of the hollow structure of the central portion 16 and include aligned central apertures which receive, and the margins of which are welded to, an elongated cylindrical strut 30. The strut 30 runs substantially the full length of the portion 16 and tends to resist undesirable sagging and deflection throughout the relatively long span thereof.

The screed bar 10 is attached to the boom 12 for pivotal movement of the bar 10 about a tip axis 32 which extends transversely of the outer extremity of the boom 12. This attachment comprises a pair of outer bracket plates 34 which, like the triangular plates 28, include axially aligned openings at one extremity which receive the cylindrical strut 30 in welded relation. The opposite extremities of the plates 34 fixedly mount a pair of axially aligned bushings 36.

A central bushing 38, axially aligned with the bushings 36, is Welded to and extends between a pair of inner bracket plates 40 whose inner extremities are welded to the cylindrical strut 30 in the same manner as the outerbracket plates 34. p

The aligned bushings 36 and 38 are adapted to receive a transverse pin 42, FIG. 1, which is also disposed through structures rigidly carried at the end of the boom 12, so that the screed bar 10 is pivotable about the tip axis 32 coincident with the axis of the pin 42.

The bracket plates 40 project a greater distance from the screed bar 10 and at their outer extremities fixedly mount a pair of aligned bushings 44. A complemental bushing (not shown) is rigidly mounted to a structure 46 fixedly carried at the end of the actuator 14, and a pin 48 is disposed through the bushings 44 and the bushing of the structure 46. With this arrangement, extension and retraction of the actuator 14 by its associated hydraulic cylinder (not shown) is effective to pivot or tip the screed bar about the tip axis 32.

Two pairs of bracket plates 50, a pair on each side of the boom 12, are attached to the cylindrical strut 30 in the same welded relation as the bracket plates 34 and 40, and rigidly mount bushings 52 which are substantially though not necessarily exactly aligned with the tip axis 32.

Each pair of aligned bushings 52 is adapted to receive a pin 54 which also projects through an aligned, complemental bushing 56, FIG. 1, fixedly carried at the end of one of a pair of elongated braces or struts 58. In this manner the braces 58 are pivotal relative to the screed bar 10, the opposite ends of the struts 58 being attached in any suitable fashion on opposite sides of the boom 12 so that the screed bar 10 is braced against deflection during a concrete spreading and smoothing operation.

A pair of usual and conventional electric vibrators 60 are attached in any suitable fashion adjacent the pairs of plate brackets 52, as illustrated, and are powered through usual electrical cables connected to the power source forming a part of the equipment (not shown) which operates the boom 12. The vibrators 60 facilitate smoothing of the plastic concrete by the underside 22 of the screed bar 10.

In use, the screed bar 10 is placed upon screed guides (not shown) located about feet apart and flush with the plane of the finished surface desired, the dimensions herein being exemplary only of course. The screed guides extend up the slope, generally perpendicular to the long axis of the screed bar 10, and facilitate control of the depth of the concrete to be spread. Concrete is then poured into the area, pouring first nearest the base of the slope and within the space defined by the central portion 16 and drift wings 18 of the screed bar 10. The bar 10 is then moved by the boom 12 to push, spread, and smooth the plastic concrete upwardly.

The drift wings 18 prevent concrete from pouring or spilling out around the ends of the screed bar 10.

Operation of the actuator 14 pivots the screed bar 10 about the tip axis 32 to maintain the underside 22 of the bar 10 flush with the intended or finish grade of the concrete at all times. Concrete beyond the limits of the Width of the screed bar 10 can be moved by indexing the boom equipment down the canal, or by tipping the boom 12 about its own axis and swinging the boom about a generally vertical axis.

The ends or drift wings 18 can be used to kick small amounts of concrete into tight areas that may have been missed in the bulk spreading operation.

In summary, the present invention provides a screeder bar which can be made several feet wide; which will provide a smooth finish; which will prevent concrete from spilling over the ends of the bar and down a slope; which can be manipulated over steep and high slopes by an elongated boom; and which paves under bridges and in other confined areas which conventional paving machines can not reach and yet which are too large in area to be economically done by hand pouring and finishing.

Various modifications and changes may be made with regard to the foregoing detailed description without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with equipment having an extensible and retractable boom, means for raising and lowering and for swinging said boom about normally horizontally and vertically oriented axes, respectively, and an actuator on said boom extensible and retractable relative to said boom, the improvement comprising:

a screed bar including an elongated central portion extending transversely of said boom and having a forward wall for pushing and spreading plastic concrete, and further having an underside forming a continuation of said forward wall for smoothing the plastic concrete, said screed bar further including a pair of end portions forming substantially right angular continuations of said central portion and constituting drift wings to constrain the plastic concrete from spilling outwardly of said screed bar during said spreading and smoothing;

first attachment means connecting said screed bar to said boom for pivotal movement of said screed bar about a tip axis extending transversely of the outer extremity of said boom;

fastener means connecting said actuator to said screed bar for pivoting said screed bar about said tip axis on extension and retraction of said actuator;

a pair of elongated struts connected to opposite sides of said boom; and

a pair of second attachment means on opposite sides of said first attachment means connecting said pair of struts, respectively, to said screed bar for pivotal movement of said struts relative to said screed bar.

2. The combination of claim 1 and including vibrator means attached to said screed bar and operative to facilitate smoothing of the plastic concrete by said underside of said screed bar.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,261,766 11/1941 Jackson 94-45 2,449,851 9/ 1948 Jackson 94-45 3,302,540 2/ 1967 Fuentes 94-50 3,374,717 3/1968 Reynolds 94-45 JACOB L. NACKENOFF, Primary Examiner. 

